Liposuction Scars – Does Liposuction Leave Scars

Are liposuction scars very visible as to make you feel uncomfortable and can they be removed? Does this question ring bells in your mind? If it does, then you have landed in the right place. This article will give you a break down of everything you need to known about scars resulting from liposuction and include several pictures to give you an idea.

Does Liposuction Leave Scars

If you are considering liposuction, chances are that you are wondering, “does liposuction leave scars?’

The answer to this question is, yes, liposuction causes scarring at the site where the doctor or surgeon pierces the skin. The scar is however usually small and not a cause for concern most people.

Liposuction Scars

Liposuction entails using a thin, hollow metallic tube called cannula to remove excess fat from the abdomen, thighs, hips, chest and buttocks among other areas. This is usually aimed at improving the contouring in such area but the use of cannula inevitably means that the procedure will leave you with some scars at the site where the cannula is inserted.

As with any other type of scars, liposuction scars are the result of the body’s natural response to injury. When the skin is punctured, the body responds by starting a buildup of collagen in the injured area. The collagen helps to strengthen the injured area of skin while facilitating a healing process beneath it.

The structure of the collagen differs from that of the collagen found in normal tissues which makes the wounded area appear different from the rest of the skin, thus leading to what we perceive as a scar.

Liposuction scars appear at the point of incision, but unlike tummy tuck scars and c-section scars, liposuction scars are usually small and are hardly visible a few weeks after the wound has healed. The incisions are usually stitched using fine sutures that are removed in about a week before stitch tracks can form.

Most surgeons will also strive to place the incisions in areas of the body where they are easily hidden by the natural creases or covered by clothing. This means that the resulting liposuction scars will as well not be very noticeable.

Some common locations are the belly button, pubic hair line or the groin crease (where the scar can easily be hidden beneath the bikini line), or at the edge of a tattoo if you have one. If you also have an existing scar from a past injury or procedure, the surgeon is likely to hide the liposuction scar within the first one.

It is also likely for the liposuction scars to look red in the first few weeks or months after which they will fade gradually and become paler. This is usually attributed to increased circulation that results as part of the body’s natural response to injury. As the wound continues to heal beneath the scar, the supply of blood will eventual drop and this is the reason why scars turn paler over time.

Your surgeon will also likely require you to wear supportive compression garments or Spanx as they are usually beneficial to liposuction patients. Compression garment not only ensure quicker healing of the incision wounds but also minimizes the degree of scarring.

Although the suitable type of compression and the time required will vary from one patient to another, you can expect to wear the compression garment for 4 to 6 weeks.

Although they are permanent features (cannot go away completely), most liposuction scars will have healed in 6 weeks as Elizabeth Morgan, MD, PhD, a plastic surgeon based in Atlanta says. It might however take as much as 1 year for a scar sustained from liposuction procedure to mature and fade away as to blend with the surrounding skin (not to disappear).

Although liposuction scars are usually very small, there may be exceptions where patients develop more visible scarring due to factors such as age, skin elasticity, genetic predisposition to scarring (which makes some patients more prone to scarring than others), and the patient’s observation of the surgeon’s post-lipo guidelines.

How well the patient follows the guidelines given impacts on how well the incision wound heals and how intensive the scar formed becomes.

There is of course also the risk of developing keloid scars especially in darker skinned people. These scars are notable for extending their boundaries beyond the natural boundaries of the incision wound. The discoloration in such scars is also more noticeable and this is attributed to an alteration in the skin’s production of melanin.

Arm Liposuction Scars

Liposuction is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures in the United States and the world at large. While abdomen, thighs and buttocks are arguable the most popular targets for this procedures, other parts of the body such as the neck, face and even arms can also benefit from the procedure.

While performed on the arms, the incisions are likely to be made on the inside of the arm or below the armpits where the resulting scar would then be neatly hidden and not noticeable without lifting your arms.

And here comes our favorite segment. If you have been reading around on this site for a while, then you might have noticed our great liking for photos. After all, some wise guy once said that a picture is worth its price to a thousand words, so to speak.

In the spirit of that wise saying, here are several liposuction scars pictures for the sake of inspiration:

Picture 1

This photo shows a lady with two scars in the lower abdomen. Most liposuction procedures leave two scars, but in some instances, the surgeon may have to add one or more accessory scars.

Picture 2,

These scars are very prominent and easily visible. This is the consequence of an infection of the healing incision wounds.